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Wednesday, 29 January 2014

Aside from the obvious fun and adventure of travelling its a good reminder of how little stuff you actually need. My two outfits for the month have been plenty - one black and blue pair of jeans. In fact due to some lost bags for 4 days we now have too much in the way of clothing.

We arrived in Switzerland minus 3 bags, and our jeans and light weight travel clothing didn't cut it in the sub zero temps. After waiting 24 hours and no sign of bags we decided we needed to get on with our holiday so went and bought some warm clothing which our travel insurance has said they will pay for. While that sounds great in theory it now means our bags are crammed and when you travel with ski gear it takes up so much room we had packed very economically.

I am enjoying the simplicity of only a couple of outfits , I fully plan to go through my wardrobe yet again on return home as every time I open my wardrobe I feel almost overwhelmed with the bulging contents. The same goes for our bathroom cupboard, my small toilet bag has everything in it I need - I can't recall what is filling up the space at home so it is obviously not important.

Aside from the necessary insurance shopping and some birthday gifts for Georgie , who turned 7 while we were in Switzerland, my only purchase for myself has been a pretty papercut picture the size of a postcard and a new hairbrush - although a fancy coloured French one. Having to carry everything in one bag per person is a good incentive.

Our first stop was Dubai, with only 24 hours here we checked into our hotel and went for a wander

We walked around the older district with spice and gold shops, it was cooler than I thought it would be, lucky for us as 3 of our 4 bags were missing when we arrived( still waiting 4 days later and hoping they turn up with all our ski gear and warm clothes for Europe)

Then we headed to the Dubai mall to check out the aquarium

Public transport was really easy and kind of wished we had another couple of days there but I only booked 24 hours as a break for the long trip ( 20 hours flying just to get here). Dubai mall was actually really interesting, we didn't t buy much just food but there was much more here to look at than I expected - music fountains, old style traditional looking areas, sculptures kids could touch to play a tune ,and an amazing lolly shop!

If we had an extra day we would have gone to some of the outdoor parks and museums.

Monday, 6 January 2014

On every drive , bike ride or walk I 've written a blog post in my head about the Xmas gift making, the last days of the school year, new year wind down - the list goes on. Now in the chaos of packing for a month long trip to Europe I have finally found a little pocket of time to sit down and write.

I just looked back through last years resolutions: get fit - mmm didn't really happen but I did try some new things like tennis and outdoor fitness classes.
More organised - yes and no, still need to clear out my wardrobe but we did park in the garage this winter because there was space.
A White Xmas, not quite but heading to snow in early January is pretty close.
Do a photography course - yes big tick I did do this one.

2014:

Less- as I hunt through the ski gear and winter clothes and organise our home for house and cat sitters this word keeps coming back to me.

I need less
Less possessions - more experiences, more trips to the beach, more long walks
Less internet time - more in the present, more Georgie time, more exercise outside
Less procrastinating - more doing and making
Less meals out - more dinner guests
Less spending - more saving ( ha that's ripe on the eve of a big holiday - might start this one in Feb when the visa bill comes in!)